A notification, copy obtained by dawn.com, was issued in this regard to Chief Traffic Officer and to the Chief Executive Officer of the Lahore Transport company. Notification clearly stated that these two companies are operating without registering private cars to any regulatory authority in Pakistan.

It also stated that use of private cars by Uber and Careem for commercial use is against the city local laws. Provincial Govt. also stated that Uber and Careem have failed to obtain required fitness certificates and route permits for their fleets had resulted in “great loss to the government.”

Following the Govt of PunjabSindh Transport Secretary of Pakistan, Taha Farooqi had also sent a written notification to the Deputy Inspector General Traffic Asif Aijaz asking for a ban on Uber and Careem from operating in the province.

Provincial Government had also asked the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block mobile apps of these ride services as they had failed to obtain required no-objection certificates (NOC).

“We are working on regulations, but we have taken no action against these services yet,” Shah told Dawn.

“These companies follow regulations in all the countries they operate in, so why not in Pakistan?” Shah added.

Uber and Careem Response:

In response to ban by Govt of Pakistan, Uber and Careem agreed to work the regulatory authorities to ensure that Pakistani’s have access to safe, affordable and efficient transportation option.

Uber stated

“In the meantime, we will stand by our driver-partners. There are currently many drivers in Pakistan that are partnering with apps like Uber to help earn a sustainable income for themselves and their families”

Careem’s Managing Director, Junaid Iqbal stated

“We want to see what kind of laws we can help devise to regulate the sharing economy. We are ready to work with the government on all levels for this”.

“We want to work with the Government of Pakistan and create 100,000 jobs by the end of 2018”.